The Worst Patient
by LadyNightRunner
Summary: A mission gone wrong leaves Kabuto feverish and sick outside Konoha's walls. When Sakura takes him in and cares for him, can he find it in himself to thank her? Maybe even...love her? Medicshipping KabutoSakura


Don't hurt me! ducks This one's been waiting in the wings for awhile, and I thought I'd put it up! AS for the title...you've heard the saying 'doctors make the worst patients', right?

* * *

When asked who he liked, Kabuto always answered with something along the lines of " I don't have time for mushy romantics" and would then usually chase the questioner away. Later on, he would wonder why it seemed so important to everyone who knew him to find out who he liked. The answer was simple really: he didn't, and even _if_ he did, he _wasn't_ going to say so.

After a time, even Orochimaru wanted to know who the clever medic liked. When he asked, Kabuto replied with a chilly "Orochimaru-sama, you've had a long day, and you look tired. You should rest until dinner." When the man protested, Kabuto firmly escorted him from the Clinic and back to his rooms. That was it. Everyone gave up.

Several weeks after Orochimaru's inquiry had been shot down in flames, Kabuto was sent on a last-minute surveillance mission. Spur-of-the-moment assignments were always irritating, sometimes even bordering on bad or even terrible, and occasionally crossing the line between terrible and whatever came after, but this was one of the worst. It was early December, with frigid temperatures and a thin blanket of snow covering the ground of Sound Territory. The snow got deeper as he got into the mountains surrounding Konoha, and the temperatures grew colder, especially at night. Kabuto hadn't had nearly enough time to prepare for the weather, and spent most of his time shivering as he forged a slow, laborious path in the direction he thought led to Konoha. After nearly braining himself when he slipped on an icy branch and fell, he'd been forced to remain on the ground, making the going slow.

Nearly a week and a half later, Kabuto was still walking. He was well and truly lost, so turned around that he didn't know he was less than three hour's travel from Konoha's walls. He was too tired to care anyway, and too muddled to realize it. He'd eaten little except soldier rations for a week, because he hadn't been able to forage for anything else when the snow became knee-deep. His senseless path had taken him away from any water source that would have remained assessable in the winter, and one could only eat so much snow for water before the tongue was too cold to stand it. Now, cold, hungry, and feverish, his mission forgotten, he became a small, dark blot against an all-encompassing world of white.

Sakura was out walking. It had taken a little finagling, but being the apprentice of the Hokage had its perks, and now she was beyond the village gates. She had to be back before nightfall, but that still gave her nearly eight hours. She stopped beside a towering pine tree and burrowed into the snow at its base to make a rather cozy hollow to eat lunch in. She was just finishing when she heard something. Pulling her hair away from her ears, Sakura listened carefully. Someone nearby had a nasty cough. A _very_ nasty cough. The sound grew louder, then stopped abruptly, followed by a retch. Then…silence.

Sakura's medic instincts kicked in. Someone nearby was sick, or hurt. She was the closest person with medical experience; therefore, she had to help. She walked in the direction the sound had come from for roughly five minutes, then rounded a thick growth of scrub oak to find the source of the sound; someone was sprawled facedown in the snow. She took a few more steps toward him, then squeaked and rushed to his side. She couldn't see who it was, or what village they had come from, but there was a puddle of vomit in the snow near him, and that was reason enough. Carefully, she rolled him onto his back so she could see who he was, and nearly died of shock. The thick silver hair and wire-rimmed glasses represented only one person in her memory, and that person was Kabuto Yakushi, the traitor who had given information on the Chunin Exams and numerous other happenings in Konoha to Orochimaru.

Sakura was ready to just leave him right where he was and let the weather work with whatever was wrong with him to finish him off, but stopped when Kabuto whimpered softly and wrapped his arms around his middle. Sakura pushed her personal opinion to the back of her mind, and took a second look at Kabuto. This time, she noticed everything else. Flushed face… yes, he had a fever, shivering, rough breathing…his clothes weren't heavy enough for this weather, and his pack was nearly empty. If she had to guess, he'd probably caught a flu bug, which had taken a turn for the worst when exhaustion and the cold had reared their ugly heads. She sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, she owed Kabuto. If he hadn't been there, she and the boys wouldn't have survived the Second Exam, and might not have made it past the first.

"You don't deserve this." She grumbled. With a minor struggle and some very un-ladylike words, Sakura got Kabuto over her shoulder in a way that more or less balanced his weight. It was going to be a long walk home…

Three hours later, Sakura was hauling Kabuto up the stairs to her apartment. She'd used a Genjutsu to make Kabuto look like a gigantic armload of pine branches, with a handful of real branches to add to it, and had made it in the gates without suspicion. Many ninja brought pine branches indoors during the winter to keep the air fresh. Now came the hard part: she had to get Kabuto into clean, dry clothes. To do so, she needed clothes for him, since he was a good head and shoulders taller than her, with considerably broader shoulders and a thicker waist. Plus, he was male. She needed help. Who could she ask? Not Sasuke, or Kankuro, who had both gone up against Kabuto's teammates in the Exams…Kiba. Why Kiba? Because he was going through a phase in which he was determined to treat girls nicely, since he wanted to practice before asking someone out. Personally, Sakura thought whoever he intended to ask was a lucky girl.

Kiba was sprawled in front of the fire at home when Sakura arrived. In fact, he was half asleep, so that when he realized that there was someone beside him, he got up too fast, lost his balance, and fell into Sakura. After apologizing profusely, he offered to make her a cup of tea, which she accepted. When it was ready, they retreated back to the warmth of the fire.

"Can I do something for you, Sakura?" Kiba asked. Sakura nodded.

"I need some help with someone at home." She said. Kiba cocked his head to one side, looking confused.

"Boyfriend problems?"

"No, not boyfriend related at all. His arrival was…unexpected…and I don't have anything for him to wear…he's about your height and I thought that maybe…" she trailed off.

"You want to borrow my clothes?" Kiba clarified. Sakura nodded, blushing. "Why are you blushing?"

"It's just…he can't- he's unable to- I…need help getting him dressed."

"So you want me to bring some of my clothes to your house and dress whoever it is that's staying with you, right?"

"Yes. And you can't tell _anyone_ who he is, okay?"

"Right." Kiba got to his feet and headed for his room, then paused. "Are you going to wait for me, or do you just want me to follow after I get the clothes?"

"Er…follow, I guess."

" 'kay. I'll be there in about…ten minutes."

"Thanks."

/10 minutes later/ Sakura let Kiba into her apartment. "Where is he?"

"On the couch. Could you…by yourself, I mean…I'd rather not see."

"Sure." Kiba stepped past Sakura, saw who was on the couch, yelled, dropped what he was carrying, shoved Sakura behind him, and had a pair of kunai out in the space of a few seconds.

"Wait! Kiba, it's okay. He's not a threat. Put the kunai _down_." Kiba looked at Sakura in confusion. "Please put them down, Kiba." Slowly, Kiba did as he was told. Then he picked up the backpack he'd been carrying.

"You're going to do a _lot_ of explaining when he's dressed." He grumbled.

"Thanks." Sakura said. Kiba ignored her and stomped into the living room.

Kiba joined Sakura in the kitchen a few minutes later, dropped onto one of the stools that sat in front of the counter, and fixed Sakura with a questioning stare. "Explain." he said flatly.

"Er…well, I was out walking earlier and I found him. He's really sick, and I couldn't just leave him. He could've _died_!" Sakura said. Kiba shook his head.

"I won't tell anyone, but I'm coming to check on you _every_ day, understand? I'm _not_ going to risk him waking up and going into a crazed rage or something. And I don't want your teammates to blame _me_ for not protecting you, if they find out."

"Okay. Thank you." Kiba nodded and got to his feet.

"I'll be going then. I left some other clothes by the foot of the couch." Sakura smiled. At least she had an ally now.

Kabuto woke up the following afternoon. His first thought was simply how awful he felt. The second was _where am I_? He knew by the feel that he was lying on a couch, and there were several heavy blankets covering him. There was also a damp cloth on his forehead. The house he was in smelled faintly of pine trees and wood smoke, with a distinctive feminine undertone. Footsteps approached, and he turned to see who they belonged to. He stared.

Sakura stood halfway across the room, holding a bowl of soup in one hand, and a thermometer in the other. "You…you're awake." She whispered. Kabuto fumbled under the blankets, reaching for weapons that weren't there; he was wearing pajamas, and his weapons pouches were nowhere to be seen.

"Get away from me." He hissed. He sat up, swung his feet over the edge of the couch, and stood up. Kabuto managed a grand total of three wobbly steps before his legs gave out and he fell. Sakura quickly put the soup and thermometer down and dove to catch him. She did, just barely, and then wrestled him back onto the couch.

"Don't do that." She breathed. Her tone was concerned, and it confused Kabuto. Why was she worried about him?

"Don't touch me." He growled. To his surprise, she didn't shy away from him, the way he'd expected. The timid girl he'd known during the Chunin Exam had grown up. In her place was a very determined young woman who was hell-bent on touching him, whether he liked it or not.

"Hold still." Sakura said, and went to retrieve the soup and thermometer. "And be _grateful_. If anyone _else_ had found you, you'd have been killed on sight."

"What do you intend to do with me then?" Kabuto questioned. He pulled away from Sakura when she offered the thermometer, no doubt hoping he would accept it without an argument or struggle. She sighed and grabbed Kabuto's ear, twisting with a calculated amount of force. He whimpered, his fingers scrabbling against hers in a futile attempt at relieving the pain.

"Open please." She said, almost cheerfully, ignoring his question. When he didn't, she twisted a little more.

"Okay, _okay_!" Smiling serenely, Sakura popped the thermometer under his tongue. Kabuto glared daggers at her, a fact she seemed quite unaware of.

"I'm not going to _do_ anything to you, Kabuto, not in the way you see it as. I'm going to take care of you until you're healthy again, then I'm going to see that you're well equipped, and will take you out well away from the village and let you go. After that, it's up to you." Kabuto stared. She _wasn't_ going to turn him in? She _wasn't_ going to question or torture him?

"Vhy noth?" he asked around the thermometer. Sakura giggled and smacked the top of his head gently.

"Don't talk with that in your mouth." She said. "We owe you." Kabuto gave her a look that clearly asked _we_? "Sasuke, Naruto, and me. We wouldn't have passed the Second Exam without you. The boys don't want to have anything to do with you, so they don't know you're here. Maybe _they_ would've passed without you, but…I wouldn't have." She went silent, and he decided not to press her for more information. The Exams were a sore spot for him as well, one which he didn't like brought up unless necessary.

The thermometer beeped. Sakura took it and checked the readout, then put the thermometer down and picked up the soup.

"I'm not eating that."

"Yes you are."

"Am not." Kabuto growled. Sakura sighed, and eyed him.

"Why not?" She asked. Kabuto blinked. Why not? He just didn't…oops. While he was trying to come up with a suitable response, Sakura popped a spoonful of soup into his mouth. It caught him by surprise and he choked, spluttering, while Sakura sat there with a smug look. Damn. He definitely preferred the old Sakura, who would never have dared to do that.

"Because." He said finally, attempting to salvage his dignity.

"Right. The macho-man thing doesn't work on me, Kabuto. Not any more."

"Why not?" he asked, trying to stall while he came up with a plan to avoid the soup. Not that it was bad or anything, but…he refused to suffer this indignity any longer. Of course, he left out the fact that he couldn't get more than a few steps away from the couch.

"Because I've seen plenty of guys who are a lot more moronically macho than _you_ drop the act. And you lost your macho rating a long time ago."

"Since _when_?" Kabuto asked, feeling vaguely insulted.

"Since you were on your knees in front of me, puking, before the Exams started." Ouch. That was an occurrence he preferred to forget. Still, it left her wide open.

"You _like_ the thought of me on my knees before you? I didn't know you were into things like Sn'M." he drawled.

"Try that on Orochimaru, four-eyes." Sakura snapped, and shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth before he could protest. Then, just for good measure, she smacked the side of his head. He glared at her, and she glared back. "Try another comment like that and I'll make sure you never have children." She growled, and offered the spoon again. This time, Kabuto took it out of her hands.

"I can feed myself, thank you." He grumbled. Sakura smiled slightly and set the bowl in his lap.

"Go ahead. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything." She headed back to the kitchen, leaving a truly dumbfounded Kabuto to stare after her.


End file.
